It sounds like Ashley Phillips is getting ready to head back to the Championship. Adam Leventhal, writing for The Athletic, is reporting that Tottenham Hotspur is in “advanced talks” with Stoke City to send Phillips there for a season-long loan to the English second division.
You will recall that Phillips had a highly successful loan in the Championship last season when he spent the season at Plymouth Argyle (alongside Alfie Devine), and where he won Argyle’s Young Player of the Season award. Plymouth ended last season just outside the relegation zone, and Stoke wasn’t that much better, finishing in 17th with 56 points. Nobody’s predicting Stoke to pull up any trees in the league this season, but they shouldn’t be in danger of relegation, and have been tipped for mid-table, so it seems like a decent enough place for Ash to land and get a bunch of first team minutes. That’s really what he needs if he’s going to progress and eventually crack Tottenham’s first team.
Seems like a good idea to me, anyway. We’ll see what happens.